Acne patches have emerged as a popular item to keep in your skincare arsenal. These handle little patches are positioned as a “break out in case of emergency” tool for quick, effective relief or your pimple. But how do they work really? In this blog, we’ll cover the science behind these nifty little patches, what to really expect from them, whether or not they can replace your topical acne treatments, and what are some of the best pimple patches on the market.
How do pimple patches work?
Pimple patches, in a nutshell, are adhesive stickers designed to treat blemishes while keeping them covered and shielded from the environment. On the side of the patch that adheres to skin, it’s made up of a material call “hydrocolloid”. Hydrocolloid is essentially a gel comprised of a very water-loving polymer. There is a common misconception that hydrocolloid gel works by absorbing the excess oil from your pimple, effectively drying it out. Since hydrocolloid is actually water-based, it doesn’t absorb any of the oil. It may help with draining some of the pus, but in actuality, they work by keeping skin in a healing-friendly, moist condition.
On the outer side of the patch is a water-repelling layer designed to shield your lesions from the environment, contaminants, bacteria, and your own pesky little fingers. This can help your acne to heal as fast as possible without extra inflammation.
Some patches may actually be loaded with acne-fighting active ingredients such as salicylic acid. These patches are said to continuously deliver these actives directly to your acne, maximizing its effectiveness.
These all sound fantastic! But let’s take a closer look at clinical studies to get a better sense of what to expect from pimple patches.
How long does it take for these patches to work?
One of the top misconceptions we see about these patches is that they’re an emergency spot treat that can tame an extra angry breakout quickly. But is that really true? Let’s take a closer look at a clinical study.
In one study, study participants used the patches for 8 hours a day for 11 days. On average, the targeted pimple took 7 days to half in size, and 11 days to fully resolve. In another study, 41 subject applied hydrocolloid patches daily for 14 days. Studies saw significant improvement in the lesion by day 4.
Doesn’t feel super instantaneous huh?
Can they replace my salicylic acid?
We also often see patches that are loaded with acne actives such as salicylic acid. These supposedly help deliver active ingredients continuously, helping to resolve pimples faster. To address this question, let’s take a closer look at a clinical study based on an acne patch loaded with 3% salicylic acid.
In one particular study, microneedle gel patches loaded with 3% salicylic acid and 2% asiaticoside (an active component of soothing centella asiatica) was used for 28 days straight. The study found that the patch was able to reduce acne volume by 12.34% after 3 days, and another 10% by day 7. To be honest, these numbers don’t sound too impressive to us!
To sum up, though pimple patches may contain similar active ingredients, they cannot replace your topical treatments. It’s best to think of them as a complementary treatment rather than a replacement. Consider spot treating with proucts loaded with AHAs and BHA salicylic acid (such us our very own Specialist AHA/BHA treatment!).
Best pimple patches on the market (in our opinion!)
Want to add some pimple patches to your stash? Here are some of our top tips when shopping for these:
- Wear comfortability: if you want to rip them away from your face as soon as they go on.. Obvious red flag here.
- Cost: based on the clinical studies, you’d want to use them for at least 3 days to a week straight. If you have more than one extra angry lesion you want to use these for, you start going through these patches pretty fast! So cost per sticker matter here and don’t stress about fancy claims like “loaded with active ingredients.
With so many pimple patches, it can be overwhelming to choose the right one. We tested some of the most popular patches on the market and here are our thoughts:
- Least favorite: Neutrogena Stubborn Acne Pimple Patches.
These didn’t adhere all that well to our faces and was pretty uncomfortable to wear.
- Worth considering: Starface Hydro Stars
These are not very expensive, are fun to look at, and wears really well. That said… it could be because we just can’t pull off more than 2 stars on our face without looing a little crazy…they don’t feel like they’re appropriate for all occasions.
- Best Overall: Mighty Face Original
Might Face wears well, feels comfortable. We also tried their invisible and microdart ones. Ultimately, the original felt the best after long hours of wear on our faces!
The Verdict on Acne Patches
Acne patchesare great at protecting a particular angry lesion from getting worse, shielding it from environment aggressors, and optimizing healing condtions. However, these are also misrepresented as instant spot treating miracles. Acne patches still take a few days to work and aren’t super helpful at delivering acne active ingredients. Ultimately, hink of these as a fantastic sidekick to your acne topical treatments. For more details on this topic, check out our podcast episode!
References
Jaturapisanukul, K., Udompataikul, M., Kanokrungsee, S., Rojhirunsakool, S., Kamanamool, N., Rachpirom, M., & Puttarak, P. (2021). Efficacy and safety of a novel water‐soluble herbal patch for acne vulgaris treatment: A randomized, assessor‐blinds controlled, intra‐individual split‐face comparative study. Dermatologic Therapy, 34(3), e14925.
Chao, C. M., Lai, W. Y., Wu, B. Y., Chang, H. C., Huang, W. S., & Chen, Y. F. (2006). A pilot study on efficacy treatment of acne vulgaris using a new method: results of a randomized double-blind trial with Acne Dressing. Journal of cosmetic science, 57(2), 95-105.
50551 The Science Behind a Viral Trend: Demonstrating Safety and Efficacy of Hydrocolloid Patch for Facial Acne
Kosmoski, GabrielleDu-Soriano, JennyIlg, DonnaDelSasso, AliciaZhang, Paul et al.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Volume 91, Issue 3, AB336
